Armenian Chess

[MosJan]

http://www.armenianknight.com

 

this is the best web page , if you need chess info .

[shiner]

I noticed a considerable number of Armenian chess players representing other countries. I wander how hard chess has been hit by the current conditions in Armenia. I wander what the potential is for the future. I don't think many players would be willing to return and I imagine the ones that are still there are eager to leave. What do you all think?

[MJ]

I think there is no problem with leaving. After all, if the conditions in Armenia don't allow people to do what they are supposed to do, for instance, chess players work on improving their qualifications, what good is it for Armenia to have them burry themselves (read their talent) in Armenia. If they would live elsewhere, per se, but play under Armenia's flag, what's the problem? It is a common practice in International Sports, I think.

 

[ April 03, 2001: Message edited by: MJ ]

[shiner]

MJ, you are right about some who have left and still play under Armenia's flag. But there are quite a few others who have left and don't play under Armenia's flag (most notably Sergei Movsesian of the Czech republic and others). Actually I never thought of this, but why do some maintain their Armenian citizenship and others don't? Maybe it depends on the respective countries they are in if they can keep their citizenship.

 

I also agree that it is better for them to enhance their talents elsewhere as opposed to just staying in Armenia and not progressing. But obviously it would be ideal if they could do so in Armenia. Their presence in Armenia would help on the long run in terms of them acting as coaches/mentors for the younger players and promoting the sport.

[MJ]

BTac,

Sergey Movsesyan is not a first class player. If I remember correctly, he is more of a theoretician and a coach, then player. I might confuse him with somebody else, however. Maybe Berj could correct me.

As to staying in Armenia and being able to progress, wouldn't it be great?

[shiner]

MJ, you might be confusing him with Yuri Dokoyan who is not an active player, but is Kasparov's second (coach). Dokoyan is in Russia. Movsesian, as far as I know is a very active player. In addition he is a pretty young guy (only 23 years old). As a matter of fact he is currently ranked higher in the world than any other Armenian.

[shiner]

According to the March 2001 FIDE rankings there are 4 Armenians in the world's top 100.

 

#31 Sergei Movsesian

#37 Vladimir Akopian

#44 Rafael Vaganian

#86 Smbat Lputian

 

Vladimir Akopian's game has slipped quite a bit in the last year or so. I guess his best year was 1999 when he was crowned vice champion in Las Vegas at the FIDE world championship. Artashes Minasian was in the top 100 also before, if I am not mistaken.

[gamavor]

Armenian Chess is a Class!

One of the things that make me proud of being Armenian.

 

[ April 04, 2001: Message edited by: gamavor ]

[Harut]

As you know Gary Kasparov is half Armenian.

why don't you mantion his name as a famous Armenian chess players?

I don't know how much he cares about the fact that is he's half Armenian but I think you should be proud of him as well.

 

[ April 05, 2001: Message edited by: HarutPakhanyan ]

[Boghos]

When I first went to Yerevan in 1985, I was invited to visit the Chess House. I was quite impressed. I was very warmly received and had the chance to play with an International Master. They gave me a number of chess books in Armenian, which I still have.

 

Last time I visited Yerevan the Chess House was in disarray. I felt very sad. Just another evidence of the unfortunate stae of things. But I hope for the better.

[Ararat-73]

Sergey Movsisian is one of the best Armenian in the world. He left angry Armenia and took Tchec nationality after not been selected some 5 or 6 years ago ( when he was between 16 and 18 years old) in the Armenian team for a major competition. This is the problem of countries having strong national team. The case of Armenian in Chess. Let me remind you that Armenia has dozens of potential future world champions aged between 10 and 20 !

[MJ]

Now it seems to me that I am indeed talking about somebody else. When I was a youngster, I remember there was a chess educator frequently giving chess classes over TV (there was such a weekly TV program in Yerevan in my youth). I thought the name of the guy was Sergey Movsesyan. Seems like I am mistaken, since that guy should be around 60, now.

[MJ]

Armenians in FIDE rating list of April 2001

 

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has released the April 2001 rating list. Here is the list of the 10 armenian chessplayers who are among the world top 250 (the rankings and the birth dates of the players are given in parentheses). Except for Kasparov (RUS) and Movsesian (CZE) all others represent Armenia.

 

1- Garry Kasparov (Ranked Number 1;born in April 13,1963)

2- Vladimir Akopian (Ranked 28th ; b. Dec. 7,1971)

3- Sergei Movsesian (Ranked 43rd ; b. November 3 ,1978)

4- Rafael A. Vaganian (Ranked 46th ; b. October 15,1951)

5- Smbat G. Lputian (Ranked 58th ; b. February 14,1958)

6- Ashot Anastasian (Ranked 86th ; b. July 16, 1964)

7- Artashes Minasian (Ranked 134th ; b. January 21, 1967)

8- Karen Asrian (Ranked 156th ; b. April 24 1980)

9- Aronian Levon (Ranked 184th ; b. October 6, 1982)

10- Gabriel Sargisian (Ranked 234th ; b. February 3, 1983)

[MJ]

Chess: Akopian shares the lead with Bareev and Bacrot

 

Armenian News Network / Groong

April 16, 2001

 

By Khatchig Mouradian

 

ENGHIEN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE

 

 

After a day of rest, the fifth round of the Enghien-les-Bains chess

tournament was played on Monday, which turned out to be a great day

for Akopian.The armenian grandmaster beat one of the three leaders,

Loek Van Wely, and joined Bareev and Bacrot on the top of the

standings chart. During his match with Akopian, Van Wely employed an

interesting strategy, which gave him the advantage, but as time

control approached he let the advantage, and the match, drift away.

 

With four rounds to go, Akopian, who is ranked 7th in this tournament,

has emerged as one of the contenders for the title, and has paved the

road to disproving the forecasts that at the end of the tournament his

name would be somewhere in the middle of the scoreboard.

 

 

Round 5 Results(April 16, 2001)

 

Bacrot, Etienne vs. Fressinet, Laurent 1/2 -1/2

Van Wely, Loek - Akopian, Vladimir 0-1

Lautier, Joel - Grischuk, Alexander 1-0

Tkachiev, Vladislav - Bareev, Evgeny 1/2 -1/2

Bauer, Christian - Bologan, Viktor 0-1

 

 

Round 5 Standings:

 

1. Bareev, Evgeny g (RUS) 3.5 pts.

2. Akopian, Vladimir g (ARM) 3.5

3. Bacrot, Etienne g (FRA) 3.5

4. Van Wely, Loek g (NED) 3.0

5. Lautier, Joel g (FRA) 3.0

6. Tkachiev, Vladislav g (FRA) 2.5

7. Bauer, Christian g (FRA) 1.5

8. Fressinet, Laurent g (FRA) 1.5

9. Grischuk, Alexander g (RUS) 1.5

10. Bologan, Viktor g (MDA) 1.5

 

Pairings of Round 6 (17 April)

 

Vladimir Akopian (ARM) vs. Viktor Bologan (MDA))

Evgueny Bareev (RUS) vs. Christian Bauer (FRA)

Alexander Gritchouk (RUS) vs. Vladislav Tkatchiev (FRA)

Laurent Fressinet (FRA) vs. Joel Lautier (FRA)

Loek van Wely (NED) vs. Etienne Bacrot (FRA)

 

 

The moves of the games played by Akopian in rounds 3, 4 , and 5

 

Enghien-les-Bains (FRA)

(Round 3)

Laurent Fressinet (FRA) - Vladimir Akopian (ARM)

 

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nbd7 6. Nf3 h6 7. Nxf6+

Nxf6 8. Bh4 c5 9. Bc4 a6 10. O-O Be7 11. Bb3 cxd4 12. Nxd4 O-O 13. c3 Ne4

14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Re1 Nf6 16. Qe2 Qc7 17. Nf3 Bd7 18. Rad1 Bb5 19. Qe5 Qxe5

20. Nxe5 Rfd8 21. a4 Be8 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. Rd1 Rc8 24. Rd4 1/2-1/2

 

Enghien-les-Bains (FRA)

(Round 4)

Vladimir Akopian (ARM) - Christian Bauer (FRA)

 

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Ngf3 Nf6 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. Qe2+

Be7 8. dxc5 O-O 9. Nb3 Re8 10. Be3 a6 11. Bd3 Ba4 12. Nfd4 Bxb3 13. Nxb3

Nbd7 14. O-O-O Nxc5 15. Qf3 Nxb3+ 16. axb3 Qa5 17. Kb1 Bc5 18. Bxc5 Qxc5

19. Qf4 Ne4 20. Rhe1 Rac8 21. Re2 g6 22. Rde1 Qd6 23. Qxd6 Nxd6 24. Ka2 Kf8

25. Ka3 Rxe2 26. Rxe2 Ne4 27. b4 b5 28. Kb3 Nf6 29. Re5 Re8 30. f4 Rc8 31.

Be2 h5 32. g3 Rc6 33. Bf3 Rd6 34. Kc3 Rc6+ 35. Kd3 Rc4 36. c3 d4 37. Bb7

dxc3 38. bxc3 Ng4 39. Re2 Nf6 40. Bxa6 Nd5 41. Bxb5 1-0

 

Enghien-les-Bains (FRA)

(Round 5)

Loek Van Wely (NED) - Vladimir Akopian (ARM)

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nd4 4. e3 Nxf3+ 5. Qxf3 g6 6. b3 Bg7 7. Bb2 d6 8.

g4 Nf6 9. g5 Nd7 10. h4 Ne5 11. Qg2 Bg4 12. Be2 Bxe2 13. Kxe2 Nc6 14. Rab1

h5 15. Nd5 O-O 16. f4 Bxb2 17. Rxb2 e6 18. Nf6+ Kg7 19. a3 Rb8 20. b4 cxb4

21. axb4 Ne7 22. Ra1 a6 23. b5 axb5 24. Rxb5 Ng8 25. Ne4 Qc7 26. d3 d5 27.

cxd5 Qd7 28. Raa5 Rbc8 29. Kf3 b6 30. dxe6 Qxd3 31. Rd5 Qb1 32. Rab5 Qe1 33.

Rxb6 Ne7 34. Qb2+ Kh7 35. Nf6+ Kh8 36. Nxh5+ Rc3 37. Qd2 Rxe3+ 38. Qxe3

Qxe3+ 39. Kxe3 Nxd5+ 40. Kd4 Nxb6 41. Nf6 fxe6 42. Ke5 Nd5 0-1

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[MJ]

Akopian is only one step away from victory

 

Armenian News Network / Groong

April 19, 2001

 

By Khatchig Mouradian

 

ENGHIEN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE

 

 

The eighth round of the strong Category 17 chess tournament held in

Enghien-les-Bains did not deliver the much anticipated "bloodshed". A

peaceful state of mind seemed to reign as Akopian drew with Bareev

after some inevitable simplifications. The frenchmen Bacrot and

Lautier also agreed to a draw. Van Wely revived his chances for a

place in the top by making Tkatchiev register a third loss in a

row. True to his name, Viktor Bologan was a victor, beating Grischuk

and climbing up a few more ladders, while the match between Frenchmen

Fressinet and Bauer ended in a draw.

 

All this means that Akopian keeps his place at the top of the

standings, though now he has four Grandmasters(Bacrot, Bareev, Van

Wely, and Lautier) on his tail, who are only half a point behind.

However, a draw will be sufficient for Akopian to share the title with

anyone of the aforementioned four, who manages to win his last round

game;while if Akopian wins, he will end the tournament sitting alone

on the throne, irrespective of the results on the other boards.

 

They say it is not over until the fat lady sings. When tomorrow night

she finally delivers the song, let's hope it will be in armenian.

 

 

Round 8 (April 19, 2001)

 

Akopian, Vladimir vs. Bareev, Evgeny 1/2-1/2

Bacrot, Etienne vs. Lautier, Joel 1/2-1/2

Van Wely, Loek vs. Tkachiev, Vladislav 1-0

Grischuk, Alexander vs. Bologan, Viktor 0-1

Fressinet, Laurent vs. Bauer, Christian 1/2 -1/2

 

Standings after Round 8:

1. Akopian, Vladimir (ARM) 5.5 pts.

2. Bacrot, Etienne (FRA) 5.0

3. Bareev, Evgeny (RUS) 5.0

4. Van Wely, Loek (NED) 5.0

5. Lautier, Joel (FRA) 5.0

6. Bologan, Viktor (MDA) 3.5

7. Grischuk, Alexander (RUS) 3.5

8. Fressinet, Laurent (FRA) 3.0

9. Tkachiev, Vladislav (FRA) 2.5

10. Bauer, Christian (FRA) 2.0

 

 

Round 9 (April 20, 2001)

 

Joel Lautier vs. Vladimir Akopian

Vladislav Tkachiev vs. Etienne Bacrot

Christian Bauer vs. Loek Van Wely

Viktor Bologan vs. Laurent Fressinet

Evgeny Bareev vs. Alexander Grischuk

 

Bacrot, Etienne - Akopian, Vladimir

(Round 7)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 c5 5. g3 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Ne4 7. Qd3 Bxc3+

8. bxc3 Nc5 9. Qf3 Nc6 10. Bf4 O-O 11. Rd1 Qa5 12. Bd6 Nxd4 13. Rxd4 b6 14.

Qxa8 Qxc3+ 15. Rd2 Qa1+ 1/2-1/2

 

 

Akopian, Vladimir - Bareev, Evgeny

(Round 8)

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Qb3 dxc4 5. Qxc4 Bf5 6. Nc3 e6 7. g3 Nbd7 8.

Bg2 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. e3 Ne4 11. Qe2 Qa5 12. Bd2 Nxd2 13. Nxd2 Qb4 14. Nc4

b5 15. e4 Bxe4 16. Bxe4 Qxc4 17. Qxc4 bxc4 18. Bxc6 Rad8 19. Rfd1 Nb6 20. d5

Rc8 21. Bb5 exd5 22. Nxd5 Nxd5 23. Rxd5 c3 1/2-1/2

[MJ]

A great start for Asrian and Anastasian

 

Armenian News Network / Groong

April 19, 2001

 

By Khatchig Mouradian

 

ENGHIEN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE

 

 

As Vladimir Akopian is leading the scoreboard of the strongest chess

tournament ever to be held in France, his compatriots Karen Asrian and

Ashot Anastasian are doing the leading in the international tournament

being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

 

After the third round, Asrian, 21, and Anastasian, 37, are the only

players with a 100% score, in a field of 100 players, including around

two dozen Grandmasters, some of whom are well known names. In the

third round, Anastasian outplayed Maxim Sorokin and finished him off

with a piece sacrifide. In turn, Asrian bounced back from an inferior

position to beat Baadur Jobavah.

 

Here is the list of participants with the highest rating points(note

that Asrian and Anastasian are ranked 13th and 16th respectively):

 

1. Andrei Kharlov 2639 (RUS)

2. Valerij Filippov 2632 (RUS)

3. Jaan Ehlvest 2630 (EST)

4. Evgeny Vladimirov 2612 (KAZ)

5. Aleksej Alexandrov 2610 (BLR)

6. Alexander Motylev 2601 (RUS)

7. Zurab Sturua 2600 (GEO)

8. Andrey Shariyazdanov 2594 (RUS)

9. Alexei Fedorov 2590 (BLR)

10. Mihail Kobalija 2590 (RUS)

11. Alexey Kuzmin 2588 (RUS)

12. Evgeny Pigusov 2584 (RUS)

13. Karen Asrian 2582 (ARM)

14. Yuri Yakovich 2577 (RUS)

15. Pavel Kotsur 2576 (KAZ)

16. Ashot Anastasian 2574 (ARM)

17. Evgeny Sveshnikov 2571 (RUS)

18. Abhijit Kunte 2568 (IND)

19. Igor V Glek 2566 (GER)

20. Valeriy Neverov 2562 (UKR)

[Boghos]

Chess: Asrian is the sole leader in Dubai Open

 

Armenian News Network / Groong

April 21, 2001

 

By Khatchig Mouradian

 

DUBAI, UAE

 

 

In the fifth round of the Dubai Open Chess Championship, the young

Armenian grandmaster Karen Asrian continued performing impressively

and beat the number two seed Russian Grandmaster Valerij Filippov.

With this victory Asrian continued leading the quality field of 100

chessplayers.

 

Ashot Anastasian, who was sharing the lead with Asrian in round four,

lost his game against Grandmaster Alexei Federov of Byelorussia.

Federov, Estonian grandmaster Jaan Ehlvest, and Sermek Drazan are half

a point behind Asrian with 4 points each.

 

Also in the fifth round, another Armenian grandmaster, Artashes

Minassian, registered a draw. At this stage, Minassian has 3.5 points

out of five.

 

In the sixth round, Asrian will play against Drazan, Artashes

Minassian will face Yuri Yakovich, and Ashot Anastasian will battle it

out with Raouf Gadjily.

 

 

The top of the scoreboard after round five:

 

1- Asrian, Karen 4.5

2-4- Ehlvest, Jaan 4.0

Fedorov, Alexei 4.0

Sermek, Drazan 4.0

5-21-Kharlov, Andrei 3.5

Vladimirov, Evgeny 3.5

Alexandrov, Aleksej 3.5

Motylev, Alexander 3.5

Shariyazdanov, Andrey 3.5

Kobalija, Mihail 3.5

Kuzmin, Alexey 3.5

Pigusov, Evgeny 3.5

Yakovich, Yuri 3.5

Kotsur, Pavel 3.5

Anastasian, Ashot 3.5

Kunte, Abhijit 3.5

Glek, Igor V. 3.5

Neverov, Valeriy 3.5

Galkin, Alexander 3.5

Magerramov, Elmar 3.5

Minasian, Artashes 3.5

[shiner]

Enghien-les-Bains 2001

 

 

FINAL: In the final lap of a tight race, all Armenian GM Vladimir Akopian had to do to win was keep his car on the road. The other drivers, the pack of GMs a half-point behind, crashed, ran off the road, or ran out of gas as Akopian coasted home to take clear first place in Enghien-les-Bains.

 

Lautier had white against Akopian, but never put together any pressure and acquiesced to a draw in an inferior position. Thanks to the disasters on the other boards, this was enough for clear second place for the French number one.

 

Bacrot fell victim to Tkachiev’s one and only win of the event. Bareev lost to Grischuk, completing a .5/3 finish after being near the top the entire way. Bologan, looking almost medically unable to draw during the event, finished as he began, with a loss. Fressinet was the culprit and he finished with a 2.5/3 sprint.

 

Only Akopian went undefeated, and no one went without a win in this topsy-turvy event.

 

The Category 17 tournament took place in Enghien-les-Bains, France from April 11 to 20. It was one of the strongest round-robin tournaments ever held in France!

 

The participants were E.Bareev (RUS), L.Van Wely (NED), V.Bologan (Moldavia), V.Tkachiev (FRA),A.Grischuk (RUS), J.Lautier (FRA), V.Akopian (ARM), E.Bacrot (FRA), C.Bauer (FRA) and L.Fressinet (FRA).